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Beloved Parishioners,

I wish to conclude the reflection I started a few weeks ago on the Scared Heart. For many of you who follow the Pastor’s Corner weekly, I promised to conclude some of my reflections on various topics in the next couple of weeks. Today, the piece here is the conclusion of the reflection on Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Beloved Parishioners,

I send you my warm greetings in this summer season. I pray for God’s protection upon each of you as I ask the Holy Spirit to continuously abide with you. Many of you who have been following my regular Pastor’s Corner will know there are still some outstanding reflections yet to be completed but I had to pause this weekend to share some updates on the parish life.

Beloved Parishioners,

Three weeks ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I find it necessary to share some reflection on it as I could not do it earlier. On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are invited not just to reflect on a symbol of God’s love, but to enter into the very Heart of Christ—a Heart that loves without limits, suffers for the world, and longs to draw every soul into His rest.

Beloved Parishioners,

I conclude the reflection I started last week on Princes of the Apostles. The Church celebrates them together because they embody the unity and diversity of the Christian mission: Peter as the first bishop of Rome, shepherding the local Church, and Paul as the missionary evangelist, spreading the faith far beyond Jewish communities.

Beloved Parishioners,

My reflection today is centered on the Solemnity of Peter and Paul. The letter to the Hebrews 13:7 reads: “Remember your leaders, those who preached the word of God to you; and as you reflect on the outcome of their life, imitate their faith,” and it is on that note that we choose to joyfully reflect on the outcome of the lives of the Princes of the Apostles – Peter and Paul.

Beloved Parishioners,

Christ solemnly declares in John 6:51–52: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” By these words, Jesus reveals that no one can attain salvation—of both soul and body—without uniting themselves with His Body and Blood. To ensure that this saving gift would remain eternally present to His Church, Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Beloved Parishioners,

I will begin today’s reflection thus: In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Significantly, my opening lines are at once, like you must have figured out, a prayer, a proclamation of faith, a doctrine, an identity, and a character for starting every liturgical activity in the Church.

Beloved Parishioners,

I warmly welcome you to the month of June. The sixth month is usually special. In the Jewish calendar, the sixth month, Elul, is a time of deep introspection and spiritual preparation as people prepare for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It comes off as symbolic that we too are in spiritual preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved Parishioners,

My reflection this week is centered on positive change and newness of life in Christ. We read about how Saul changed to Paul following his Damascus experience of Christ (Acts 9:1- 9) and how Christ himself renamed Simon, the head of the apostles, Cephas or Peter (John 1:42), but I really wonder if we have ever thought of the significance of the great change that comes with an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Beloved Parishioners,

Last week I shared a reflection on our new Pontiff Pope Leo XIV and today I share the concluding part of that reflection. The election of Pope Leo XIV, born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, on the 8th of May, and his choice of papal name carry deliberate echoes of Pope Leo XIII. While addressing the cardinals at the General Assembly, Pope Leo XIV affirmed thus:

Beloved Parishioners,

Today I share with you a reflection on our new Pope. On the evening of Thursday, May 8, 2025, following the burst out of the most anticipated white fumes from the chimney aloft the Sistine chapel, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Cardinal Protodeacon of the Holy Roman Church, walked out of the Loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica wearing a solemn warmth around him to announce the most prominent Latin phrase of the moment “Habemus papam!”

Beloved Parishioners,

I send you my warmest greeting from our seminary in Nigeria where I am teaching the second- and third-year theologians preparing for their priestly ordination. As I continue my time with them, I want to share a reflection on the role of Peter the first pope of the Catholic Church.

Beloved Parishioners,

May the joy and peace of the risen Lord inundate our hearts and lighten up our ways! The past couple of days have been laden with a lot of mixed feelings and sombre emotions for all of us and that’s quite understandable. We woke to the joy of Easter only to be greeted by the sudden passing of our dearest Pope Francis, an event that threw all of us into mourning.